Double Dipping Epcot

I need to go back to Monday, our magical day at Epcot.

We left the park around 4:00 with two exhausted but happy little girls. I wanted to return that evening to take in the final celebration that they do when the park closes, called IllumiNations. When I was last here about 10 years ago, it was a dynamic and exciting parade that wound all through World Showcase, the section of Epcot that highlights all the different countries. They have since changed it to a laser and fireworks show on the lagoon, but I was sure it would be just as exciting.

Since Marissa doesn't like the loud sounds of fireworks, I convinced Lindsey to come back to the park with me for this adventure. She was tired but dragged herself out for it, just for her mommy.

We got there with time to spare, and I was able to convince her to go on the Spaceship Earth ride, which is within the huge globe at Epcot. It's a slow moving, educational ride about the history of communication, with a glimpse of what the future may hold. I was interested in how this would change since my last visit, because pretty much everything that they had predicted when I last visited in 2001 had come true. The "future" of communication as it was laid out 9 years ago was happening today, as evidenced by the smart phone I carried in my purse and the skyping that people do to keep in touch.

At first Lindsey was scared by the darkness and the animated people. And as with all things Disney, the animation was amazing. It was hard to believe that these were robotic pieces of latex and plastic, they looked so real. Then we got to the top of the globe, which is like being in a plantarium, except you're looking at the earth in space from what seems like a spaceship.

Then, for the return to earth and our "glimpse" into the future, the touch screen in front of us lit up and we answered questions about what we wanted to learn about in the future. It then showed us a little video with  photos of Lindsey's and my head as the faces of the characters in the video, doing all kinds of things in the future. Lindsey laughed so hard she cried. As we were exiting we saw a postcard of us surfing on futuristic surf boards on one of the big screens, and she thought it was the funniest thing ever. It was clearly a highlight of the day for her.

We then settled in for the fireworks and laser show. We ended up sitting in a section that didn't have the best view, but it was still incredible. Lindsey loved the show as well, but I think that the highlight was still the Spaceship Earth ride. It was a fun little adventure, just Lindsey and I.